Risky people or risky societies? Rethinking interventions for young adults in transition

Is it possible to identify risk factors in children and their families that, left unaddressed, might result in a life of crime? Is it risky people who commit crime or risky societies that cause individual problems?

In this briefing Richard Garside, the Centre's director, critiques policies informed by risk factor analysis that seek to prevent crime by intervening early in the lives of troubled children. He also proposes a different way to think about risk as a social force rather than an individual pathology. This is the first of three briefings the Centre is publishing as part of its contribution to the Transition to Adulthood Alliance, supported by the Barrow Cadbury Trust.